The present invention relates generally to nanoelectromechanical (NEM) systems, and more particularly to NEM systems that may be used in various applications, such as energy conversion and switching systems.
NEM systems that are structured around nanometer-scale beams, such as nanotubes or nanowires, are known. Such systems are described, for example, in commonly assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/453,783, filed Jun. 2, 2003, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This prior application illustrates, among other things, NEM switching assemblies that are constructed using millions or billions of nanometer-scale beams. For example, FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate techniques for interconnecting a plurality of beam-based structures to form useful NEM assemblies.